Wild berries in yard...safe for my chickens?

A lot of my 5 acre yard is wild, and there are bushes with berries. I make sure my human kids don't eat them, but can't stop the free ranging chickens. Will the chicks naturally eat only what it safe? If I pulled a high branch down for them will this be a treat or a poison?

Do not worry about the berries. Mine free range on our 5 acres and eat alot what is on the toxic lists. Not one has died from it. Heck mine even ate painted grass and the paint off the coop without problems. There system is much differnet than most critters as toxins pass thru them with out harming them.

If you could post a picture of the berries, a general one of the bush so we can see the shape, and a close up of the leaf and bark, we may be able to help you.

Most free range chickens do fine and you probably have nothing to wory about, especially if you see othe birds eating these berries, but I always feel better knowing.

As far as chickens automatically knowing what is good for them, they will eat styrofoam. I kinda think chickens helped originate the meaning for the term birdbrain.

Ridge runner is full of good answers today and saving me alot of typing!
My farm is full of alot of things that fall under the heading of berry. We'd need to see the bush and the berry.
However, the styrofoam insulation on the bottom of their coop door no longer exists.

Edited by gritsar - 9/22/09 at 2:25pm

If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever - Winnie the PoohI'll never develop a thick skin. Thick skin leads to a hard heart and I never want to be one of those people.A slave to LF brahmas, seramas, cochins, sebrights, bredas and call ducks. R.I.P. Dragon, the crossbeak. Thank you for teaching me so much about life.

If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever - Winnie the PoohI'll never develop a thick skin. Thick skin leads to a hard heart and I never want to be one of those people.A slave to LF brahmas, seramas, cochins, sebrights, bredas and call ducks. R.I.P. Dragon, the crossbeak. Thank you for teaching me so much about life.

Do not worry about the berries. Mine free range on our 5 acres and eat alot what is on the toxic lists. Not one has died from it. Heck mine even ate painted grass and the paint off the coop without problems. There system is much differnet than most critters as toxins pass thru them with out harming them.

I agree with cybercat.
In 30 years of having free range chickens they have eaten allot of the things that are supposed to be bad for them..
They seem to know, by instinct, what not to eat, although when painting the chicken house red the Sumatras had red beaks for awhile. They are still alive.

If you have to manipulate the truth, to be viewed in a better light, you're standing in artificial lighting.--Fred Cuellar

I have what I call 'wild lily of the valley' growing in some of the wooded area of my yard, in the summer they have red berries that my hens can't seem to get enough of. Never seemed to bother them.

If they are freeranging there really isn't much you can do to control what they eat

We have an healthy happy mix of critters in our family, rescue mutt Emma- a lab/sheltie mix. Rescue cat named Jack, a gold fish and 7 hens of mix variety. Autrolorps, BR and 1 EE. Nine one year old layers- BR, RIR, GLW, and RSL. A patient DH and 3 kids, ages 13(ACK!) 9 and 5

We have an healthy happy mix of critters in our family, rescue mutt Emma- a lab/sheltie mix. Rescue cat named Jack, a gold fish and 7 hens of mix variety. Autrolorps, BR and 1 EE. Nine one year old layers- BR, RIR, GLW, and RSL. A patient DH and 3 kids, ages 13(ACK!) 9 and 5